Boston — Latus Bio has appointed Bethany Mancilla as Chief Business Officer as the biotechnology company advances its lead Huntington’s disease program toward the clinic.
Mancilla brings more than 25 years of experience in business development, corporate strategy, financing and transactions across large and small biotechnology companies. Her background includes work in gene therapy and central nervous system drug development.
Latus said the appointment comes as its lead program, LTS-201 for Huntington’s disease, remains on track for an investigational new drug submission in the third quarter of 2026.
“Bethany joins Latus at a defining moment as we advance LTS-201 toward the clinic for Huntington’s disease and continue to build out our pipeline and partnering opportunities,” said P. Peter Ghoroghchian, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Latus Bio. “Bethany has spent her career translating differentiated science into high-value transactions. Her leadership will be integral as we advance our strategy and pursue partnerships that extend the reach of our programs and platform for patients with high unmet needs.”
Mancilla most recently served as Chief Business Officer at Capsida Biotherapeutics, a company developing next-generation gene therapies. There, she was responsible for corporate development, strategy and partnerships and helped secure transactions that provided more than $250 million in non-dilutive funding.
Before Capsida, she held senior leadership roles at Cue Biopharma, Kite Pharma and Amgen. During more than six years at Amgen, she took on increasing responsibilities and ultimately served as Vice President of Business Development. In that role, she led a global team responsible for licensing, co-development and mergers and acquisitions across therapeutic areas and modalities, including CNS.
Earlier in her career, Mancilla served as Vice President of Business Development at Micromet, where she helped form the strategic partnership that led to Amgen’s acquisition of the company. She also held leadership roles at PharmAthene and Gene Logic.
Mancilla began her career as Director of Business Development for BCM Technologies, the for-profit subsidiary of Baylor College of Medicine, where she helped support the creation and financing of four biotechnology startups. She received her M.B.A. from the University of Houston and a B.A. from the University of Colorado.
“Latus is at a true inflection point as it transitions into a clinical-stage company. LTS-201 represents a fundamentally differentiated approach to Huntington’s disease, targeting the somatic instability that drives disease progression while preserving the non-mutated allele,” said Ms. Mancilla. “Latus’ platform is built to scale precision gene therapy for larger patient populations, including multiple, potentially transformative, fast follow-programs and novel capsid opportunities. I look forward to working with the team to expanding our pipeline of disease modifying therapies through strategic partnerships.”
